'People with dementia don’t need to live in the best ‘hotel’ – they need continued high quality health care from diagnosis until the end of life. They must have equal access to it.'
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'Dementia is Different' by Dr Ludomyr Mykyta is being published by Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd and will be available for purchase in the second half of 2018.
Dr Mykyta was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for services to Geriatric Medicine and medical education in 2012. He has practised medicine for over 50 years and still travels all over South Australia seeing patients. He has treated close to 10,000 patients with Dementia. This book is aimed at anyone who participates in dementia care at any level, or has to live with its consequences. |
As a clinician, WHO consultant and senior medical administrator in various public services Dr Mykyta has had the opportunity to analyse health care systems and structures and the way specific conditions have been managed at the national, state, regional and international level.
He has previously been published in numerous journals and a number of books dealing with issues in aged care. He has regularly presented lectures to both lay and medical audiences and been interviewed on TV and radio. |
'Dementia is not just another ordinary illness that afflicts only an individual. It is a complex syndrome that afflicts both a person and their life partner. It can only be managed effectively when understood from that perspective.'
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This book was born in a fit of rage, at the cruel and callous way an elderly woman was treated by her general practitioner. Dr Mykyta contends that the conventional assessment and management of dementia is fundamentally flawed, impedes the delivery of quality care, and harms patients and their families. He outlines a more effective alternative approach based on his years of personal experience.
Although dementia manifests as a cognitive impairment, this is usually only given minimal attention. Dr Mykyta argues that every opportunity must be taken to ensure activities are designed to train and rehabilitate, regardless of the stage of the disease or any other element of context.
Although dementia manifests as a cognitive impairment, this is usually only given minimal attention. Dr Mykyta argues that every opportunity must be taken to ensure activities are designed to train and rehabilitate, regardless of the stage of the disease or any other element of context.
'There is always something more that can be done or that we can do better. Hours spent in front of the TV contribute nothing to well-being. Stable relationships and wellness are the prerequisites for quality of life.'
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He posits that the concept of 'patient' must be redefined to recognise the impact of dementia not only on the patient, but on their partners, families and carers. This is of critical importance and challenges entrenched beliefs about the respect for individual autonomy at all costs regardless of situation or consequences.
He argues that in countries like Australia it is the era of chronic illness of which Dementia is the epitome. The seeming epidemic of dementia comes with the ageing of the population, which was predictable for generations and for which successive governments failed to prepare. What now passes for aged care in Australia is a travesty where the glowing reform rhetoric obfuscated the grim reality. |